Summit again seeks Africa social solutions
The summit, which will draw
leaders from some of Africa’s biggest companies as well as decision makers from
government and civil society, provides a platform for businesses to collaborate
on the social upliftment of the continent, as well as to share insights about
the most effective ways for companies to solve social challenges as a core part
of their business operations.
The decision to hold the 2020
Summit in Rwanda gives delegates an opportunity to learn from the economic and
social developments in the country over the last two decades, with the summit’s
content aligned with selected priority areas of Rwanda’s National Strategy for
Transformation (NST1).
“The solution-seeking sessions
enable attendees and delegates to discuss specific regional challenges and
collectively contribute and suggest possible solutions,” says Shared Value
Africa Initiative CEO Tiekie Barnard. “This provides a significant opportunity
for delegates to learn and form networks across the continent.”
In line with the summit’s
partnership with Africa Leadership University (ALU), these sessions will be
facilitated by students and alumni of the ALU School of Business MBA course,
with ALU faculty members compiling reportage of these sessions.
Undergraduate students will be
ambassadors throughout the summit, while African Leadership Group founder Fred
Swaniker will also give a keynote address.
The solution-seeking sessions
allow some of the greatest minds in Africa to grapple with complex issues:
How does Africa connect across
borders to become a global tourist destination?
What is required to create food
security in Africa?
Health care: Outbreaks, pandemics
and the future of Africa’s health
Expectations vs reality: Tracking
the societal benefit of the AfCFTA
How do we build Africa’s shared value
ecosystems?
Exchanges in conversation: Entrepreneurship
and public-private partnerships
“The shared value business model,
developed by Harvard Business School’s Prof Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, is
practised by an increasing number of businesses across the world,” Barnard said.
“This provides opportunities to build business initiatives around solving
social problems at scale and contribute to achieving the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals on the continent.”
The summit has become a platform
for Africa’s business thought leaders to exchange insights and share their
experiences implementing the shared value business model in the diverse African
context. The event connects speakers from industries ranging from
telecommunications to health care, manufacturing and mining.
Discussions enable participants
new to shared value thinking to learn how to embed shared value into core
strategy of the business, and how to develop shared value opportunities to
address social and environmental issues.
As well as the solution-seeking
sessions, the summit will also feature African leaders sharing how their
businesses create economic value and value for society, as well as
presentations from various industry sectors.
Current sponsor of the summit
include Abbott, KCB Group and Old Mutual Ltd.
The 2019 summit, which took place
23-24 May in Nairobi, was attended by more than 350 business executives per day
over two days with more than 18 countries represented.
The summit also aims to encourage
business to contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals on the continent. “As with previous years, the UN Sustainable Development
Goals will be a theme throughout at the summit as a guide to the business
leaders to demonstrate how businesses can contribute to achieving the goals and
to addressing the social challenges, a core part of their operations,” says
Barnard.
Tickets and further information
are available at http://bit.ly/3cwp5Nx.
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